Casey Haggard, a 66-year-old transgender woman, was walking along Blackstone Avenue in central Fresno in July 2015 when she was fatally stabbed by a passenger in an SUV that pulled up alongside her.

Amrik Singh Bal, a 68-year-old Sikh, was walking in a neighborhood in west-central Fresno in December 2015 when he was attacked by a pair of men who beat him and then ran over him in a car. He survived his attack.

Sexual orientation or sexual identity was a major motivating factor for hate crimes in the Valley, according to the state data. Thirty-two gay men were targets across the region, and another 16 victims were lesbian women. Other victims included three people who identified as bisexual, while eight victims were transgender individuals. Another 22 victims were targeted by bias against the broader LGBT community.

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The Inaugural QueerOut Awards Gala will showcase local people and organizations for their outstanding achievements towards advancing our Queer/LGBT+ community in this place we call home. Our event will bring together 300+ people from across the Central Valley for an unforgettable evening of food, music and live performances.

Saturday, October 13, 2018
5:30 PM (Cocktail Reception); 6:00 PM (Awards Gala Begins)
Radisson Hotel Downtown Fresno
Formal attire required

Tickets & Table Prices
$50.00 per person
$500 per table of 10

Purchase a ticket or table today!

Will you be our FIRST Fresno DragCon Queen or King?

Have you wanted to be a Queen or King for the day?
We are looking for 3 people who would love to be transformed at our DragCon!

Once transformed you will walk down the Runway towards the stage and perform to win the title of Fresno’s FIRST DragCon Queen or King!

Purchase tickets in advance: general admission tickets ($25), VIP tickets ($75), (please note, VIP tickets are limited and will no longer be available for purchase at the door)

Please provide the following information when purchasing tickets: First, Last Name & Phone Number

ALL tickets will be available for pick up at WILL CALL.

Read more: Fresno's First Drag-Con: August 25th

Nominate an individual, business and/or nonprofit to be recognized at the Inaugural QueerOut Awards Gala!

There are ten different award categories. If you know a worthy award winner, Common Space wants to hear from you.

Deadline: July 27th 2018.

Nominate at: commonspacefresno.org/queeroutawards

The National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) has been following a contingent of lesbian families since they first started to plan to have kids in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those children are now about 25 years old, and the researchers have confirmed that they’re doing swimmingly.

Compared to their peers who were not raised by same-sex couples, researchers found no significant differences with respect to “adaptive functioning (family, friends, spouse or partner relationships, and educational or job performance), behavioral or emotional problems, scores on mental health diagnostic scales, or the percentage of participants with a score in the borderline or clinical range.”

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Your first and only time to experience this in theaters! OUT On Stage is the absolutely hilarious and one-of-a-kind, originally produced comedy hosted by Zach Noe Towers - OUT Magazine’s “One of the 10 comedians to watch in 2018,” the comedian that Sarah Silverman calls, “So, SO, SO Funny”!

July 24th, 8PM at Regal Fresno Stadium 22, 250 Paseo Del Centro, Fresno

Since Donald Trump--the closest thing to an authoritarian leader the country has ever seen--became president, I have increasingly found comfort in the writings of historians and activists. When the current world of insane tweets and receding justice becomes overwhelming, I look back at how the United States handled times of disruption and upheaval.

Believe it or not, it helps a lot. It provides context and perspective that is sorely lacking in today's toxic, clickbait climate. Voting in EVERY presidential and midterm election, organizing and marching, calling your members of Congress, and staying tuned in to current events (from credible news sources) are all vitally important. But if you are looking for meaning and coherence in chaos, I highly recommend the look-back approach.

Read presidential histories. Read about how Americans overcame impossible odds. Read about the work done by generations of activists, work that often seemed to be done in vain.

One of my favorite quotes on the subject is an excerpt from Jon Meacham's new (and incredible book), The Soul of America. In this specific section of the book (Chapter 4: A New and Good Thing in the World), he uses the juxtaposition of the Progressive Era of the early 20th century to make a profound point:

And yet, and yet--there is always an "and yet" in American history. Taken all in all, Woodrow Wilson and his age are revealing examples of the battles between hope and fear. The era of the suffrage triumph, for instance, was also the age of segregation, of the suppression of free speech in wartime, of the Red Scare of 1919-20, and of the birth of a new Ku Klux Klan. The story of America is thus one of slow, often unsteady steps forward. If we expect the trumpets of a given era to sound unwavering notes, we will be disappointed, for the past tells us that politics is an uneven symphony.

Yes, Anthony Kennedy's retirement in the age of Trump is a tragedy. It represents a blow to political progress that may take decades to overcome. I'm not naive to that fact. This is a setback of epic proportions that will impact millions of lives.

But it is definitely not the end of the country. All hope is not lost. Our lives have not ended. Keep moving forward. Stop posting defeatist "jokes" to social media for clicks. We owe it to the country, the future, those who blazed the trails before, and ourselves.

Dick Leitsch, a titan of the early gay rights movement who led "sip-in" protests in the 1960s, died in New York City on Friday, Ken Lustbader, the co-director of NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project confirmed to NBC News. He was 83.

Leitsch became an icon of the LGBTQ movement after leading protests that pre-dated the Stonewall Inn uprising, increasing the momentum of the gay rights movement.

"Without Dick and people like him who are brave, courageous and risked so much when being out was so dangerous, we wouldn’t be here today," Lustbader said.

Born on May 11, 1935, Leitsch moved to New York City in 1959 from his home state of Kentucky.

He went on to lead the the New York City chapter of the Mattachine Society, one of the oldest gay rights organizations in the country. It was during his time at the Mattachine Society that he came up with the idea for "sip-ins."

Continue reading at NBC News

HIV infections among teenagers and young adults in Fresno County are at their highest levels in years and there's concern of an outbreak or epidemic if the trend continues.

In 2017, Fresno County reported 15 preliminary HIV infections in youths between ages 15 and 19. And there were 31 preliminary infections among young adults between ages 20 and 24. The numbers, which have not been finalized, are the highest in the county since 2010.

"We're actually passing San Francisco now for the number of new infections, which to me is stunning," says Dr. Simon Paul, medical director of the Specialty Health Center at Community Regional Medical Center where people with HIV infections go for care.

Paul is an HIV doctor and not an an epidemiologist who studies health trends, but he uses "outbreak" when describing the latest HIV numbers in Fresno County. In April, he sent an email to officials at the Fresno County Department of Public Health about concerns, including an observation that new infections have increased since the county closed a clinic for HIV treatment and sexually transmitted diseases in 2010.

The Fresno County health department gets funding for HIV prevention only from the state. This fiscal year it received $296,685. And the county has not restored HIV services to pre-2010 levels when a sexually transmitted disease clinic offered HIV testing, counseling and treatment. The STD clinic now offers HIV testing but refers HIV-positive patients to doctors outside for care. The clinic has limited testing and treatment for syphilis.

Health officials made the decision to essentially close the STD clinic in 2010 to save about $523,000 and help plug a $5 million hole in a $54.8 million department budget to keep everything from restaurant inspections to flu-shot clinics open.

PrEP is an incredible tool to prevent infections, Toni Harrison says. "People should be aware of that, especially folks with multiple sex partners." But budget cuts have affected funding for HIV education and awareness, she says. The Living Room, which has provided HIV services for 22 years, has scaled back on what it provides.

Continue reading at The Fresno Bee

This month I waited until after my attendance at the 30th LAMBDA Literary Awards on June 4th, to write my blog. I wasn’t sure if I would write a congratulatory blog about winning ‘Best Gay Romance’ for my book Come to the Oaks; or writing about how just being a Lammy finalist was all that mattered. Home from the trip, without the Lammy award in hand, I’m sad I didn’t win, but I can say I had a great trip.

Some say, ‘you’re only as good as the company you keep’. Others say ‘there is no sincerer love than the love of food’. Well, this trip I experienced both, great company and delicious food. I’ve never been to New York, so I had both landmarks, and food on the agenda of things that were important.

In three days, my husband, his parents, and my mother covered a lot of ground and ate our way from Manhattan to Harlem. Since Central Park was a must, our first day we walked the fifteen blocks from the hotel to the park. Along the way, we visited the ‘Top of the Rock’ for a view of the city before arriving in Central Park. The park was bigger than I imagined with ponds, lakes, bike trails, sprawling lawns and luscious foliage.

My agenda was not the park at all, but the hot dog. From the moment we landed in New York, I had been seeing hot dog carts, and heard a New York hot dog was like no other dog. It took about a half hour in the park before I found the perfect hot dog stand. One hundred percent beef and eleven inches… well what’s not to like about that. From the first bite, I realized it was just another dog. Disappointed, I didn’t let it steal the fact I was sitting in Central Park eating a wiener.
That night, all dolled up, we had dinner at the Cock and Bull restaurant before taking in our Broadway show, The Lion King. And wow was that a show.

The next day, by seven-thirty-a.m. we were ready to hit the subway for our nine-a.m. tour of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island… Unfortunately, the tour started at eight and left without us. No worries though, we caught the ferry and did the self-guided tour.

Every bit as grand as in the movies, our Lady Liberty commanded your attention as the ferry drew closer to her. (Just between you and me, I imagined her to be a little taller.) This was a full day, which included a slice of the world-famous New York-style pizza they call pie. LOVED IT! I folded it in half and devoured it.
From there it was on to Ground Zero for an emotional tour, ending at the reflecting pools. This was a powerful experience that invoked a wide range of emotions.

High on the bucket list was our next stop that evening for dinner. Sylvia’s, the Queen of Soul Food in Harlem was just a twenty-five-dollar Uber ride from Manhattan. As soon as you walk into the dining room, you know your experience will be good. The dining room was buzzing with people from all walks of life; from the African American older ladies in big church hats, to the Jewish young man on a date with a strikingly beautiful Asian woman. With Home Style Fried Chicken with Collard Greens & Mac and Cheese, this was not the time to people watch. Damn that chicken was crispy and juicy, and the cornbread made my toes curl.

The next day started with a fresh air walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, stretching across from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Afterwards, lunch at the Rockefeller center, and a taste from a five-pound slice of New York cheesecake. Nope, I’ve never had cheese cake that scrumptious.

As evening fell upon us, at last, the event in which we were in the city for, had arrived, the 30th LAMBDA Literary Awards. Well because we already know how that turned out, let’s move on to after the ceremony.

For three days, I had been eyeing an Ice Cream truck parked down from the hotel. The side of the truck in big letters said New York Style Ice Cream. I was running out of time and since losing the award hours earlier, I needed comfort, real comfort. Still in my tux, Brian and I headed to Times Square in search of the truck. Brian ordered a chocolate sundae, and I had a Vanilla ice cream with Oreo cookies and chopped peanuts. The cost of this fix was a whopping twenty-three dollars, and yes it made me feel better.

In three days, we saw everything on my bucket list and then some. It was a trip that was as exciting as my vacations in Greece, Thailand, or the Amalfi coast. The rich texture of people, buildings, and food is like nothing else in the United States. For those of you that are on the fence about seeing New York, go. I promise you won’t be sorry.

Now it’s time to lose the three pounds I gained and return to work and get this next book finished for you. With a week’s worth of mail and emails to catch up on, Escaping Camp Roosevelt may have to wait until next week.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you sign up for my newsletter, and never miss another blog again.

Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) hosted the annual summit for LGBTQ students and their supporters in the beautiful neighborhood named after the oldest high school in greater Fresno. It marked the first official collaboration between the 5th largest school district in California and the statewide advocacy organization dedicated to parity in the LGBTQ student experience--GSA Network. I volunteered for several hours.

Many readers don’t need statistics to understand queer students’ reality; their personal histories are enough. In college, I co-chaired the Southern Nevada chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), to advance safer schools in the Las Vegas region. GLSEN’s innovative research, The National School Climate Survey, has consistently found public schools to often be unsafe or harmful environments for queer students, yet in recent years markable improvements are found coast to coast. As of 2015, “most LGBTQ students in California had been victimized at school,” but our state is also leading the way for affirming schools.^[1] FUSD acted with good intention, perhaps overzealously, in securitizing an already secure, gated campus with community resource officers--or school police--the day of the conference. That decision was twofold, as told to me by Erica Hasenbeck, Manager of Restorative Practices: in response to the arrest of a male teacher for sexual harassment of a male student the day before, and the reality that Fresno is no stranger to homophobic protests.

The conference, previously hosted in Fresno at affirming churches for some years, included useful and timely workshops and discussions between a morning keynote address by local drag queen Leilani Price, meals, a resource fair of local allied organizations, and a talent show/dance party in the courtyard to close out the long day. Simultaneous tracks provided youth-and-adult-specific spaces and topics along with open sessions led by valley experts, like “Racism in Our Schools” (Fresno resident and Californians for Justice staff, Grisanti Valencia): For instance, youth discussed “Political Activism in the Digital Age” (The kNOw Youth Media) and “Fight for Your Rights” (GSA Network); adults discussed advising/supporting Gay-Straight Alliance and other similar school clubs (Peggy Nemeth, Riverdale High), and “Fighting for Youth Rights” (Deion Jackson, GSA Network alumni).

District officials were on-site the entirety of the conference as helpful and intentional collaborators. Hasenbeck secured the partnership for the district and chose Fresno High as host in recognition of the school’s efforts at inclusion and the appeal of the neighborhood, she shared. School support staff were a very supportive presence as well, picking up a Saturday shift to welcome attending and visiting students from throughout the valley. While a great first partnership, future renditions provide ample opportunity for improvement.

Increased student and community attendance and involvement of regional GSA (gay-straight alliance) club advisors are two primary opportunities. Advisors criticized that the conference was not better communicated throughout FUSD, particularly to the very clubs for whom it was intended; Fresno High’s advisor told her club colleagues, frustratingly, of not being directly contacted by the district to be involved pre-conference which suggests a disconnect between central administrators and staff in schools. The security for the conference also compels reflection. It could be an unfortunate message inferred to queer students that for their congregating the presence of armed police officers or escorts are required--though the day concluded incident-free on campus. Unfortunately, the charm of the neighborhood that Hasenbeck referenced was dimmed by an occurrence that morning, Nemeth disclosed in conversation. Her club members were made uncomfortable when snubbed by staff at Kuppa Joy Coffee House, a Christian-owned and themed venue adjacent to campus:

“I feel so bad that despite coming to an event designed for them they had a negative experience just across the street getting coffee. However it happened, they felt slighted for being who they are, and that shouldn’t be happening, anywhere.”

In future summits, more volunteers could be recruited to monitor safety and deter potential homophobes, instead of police vehicles out front. Many LGBTQ people, especially folks of color, might feel uncomfortable with armed cops present due in part to historical and contemporary tensions between law enforcement and marginalized communities.

Expression, Not Suppression 2018 convened out-and-proud youngsters on April 21st, 2018. It was primarily coordinated by Marcus Navarro, Lead Fresno GSA Organizer of the Genders and Sexualities Alliance Network. A round of applause for a tremendous success!

^[1] https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/California%20State%20Snapshot%20-%20NSCS.pdf

An 8th grade student at Clark Intermediate School in Clovis says she was told to cover up a shirt that featured the words, "Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning."

Andria Zavala got the pride shirt from her mom as an Easter present.

But when she wore it to school last week, Andria said a counselor told her to check to see if it was in dress code. When Andria approached principal Teresa Barber and another administrator, she was told the shirt was "a distraction to other people and their beliefs."

She said the administrators then told her to button up her flannel top to cover up the T-shirt for the rest of the day.

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